Fight against Hospital Infection: What We Have Learned from the Lesson of COVID-19

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce the launch of a new Special Issue on “Fight against Hospital Infection: What We Have Learned from the Lessons of COVID-19”.

Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) are the most frequent and serious complication of healthcare, associated with high mortality and morbidity. HAIs are frequently due to the introduction of new health technologies, which, although guarantee the survival of patients at high risk of death  often allow contamination of organs which are normally sterile. Another crucial element to consider is the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, given the widespread use of these drugs for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes. About 80% of all hospital infections concern four main sites: urinary tract, surgical wounds, respiratory tract, systemic infections (sepsis, bacterial infections). The most frequently occurring HAIs have been so far urinary infections, but it would be interesting to evaluate if during the 2020 COVID year, the incidence of pneumonia infections has changed.

In recent years, but especially in the last year, healthcare has undergone deep changes. COVID-19 was an example of a community infection that quickly turned into the healthcare environment. The high infectivity has caused hundreds of deaths among health workers and even more deaths in nursing homes. The pandemic has tremendously enhanced the use of hydroalcoholic gel and the frequency of handwashing procedures. The possibility of preventing HAIs is strongly related to the correct use of hygienic and sanitary procedures, correct use of gloves, hand hygiene, mask use and social distance.

We are specifically inviting papers outlining studies and research in the field of innovative devices (both personal protection devices and environmental decontamination devices) or procedures introduced in the COVID-19 era and which subsequently entered the daily routine hospital activities and will from now on remain in the procedures for defending against communicable diseases in the hospital.

Dr. Rosalia Ragusa
Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Lupo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Hospital’s infection risk
• health care quality assessment
• new device against hospital infection dissemination
• decontamination
• environment disinfection
• Protective equipment
• infection control
• control the spread of infection
• Hospital hygiene measures